Information lifecycle management assisted synchronous replication

ABSTRACT

Technologies are described herein for providing information lifecycle management (ILM)-assisted synchronous replication between a first storage server having a first current state and a second storage server having a second current state. For example, a notification is received at the first storage server that indicates the second storage server has resumed operations following a failure that occurred at a failure time. At this time, the first storage server is in the first current state and the second storage server is in the second current state that is different than the first current state. Then, ILM data for the first storage server is retrieved, and at least one block of data on the first storage server that was accessed after the failure time is identified. After identifying the at least one block of data, the identified block of data is re-synchronized between the first storage server and the second storage server.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.12/702,879, filed on Feb. 9, 2010, and entitled “Information LifecycleManagement Assisted Asynchronous Replication,” and claims the benefit ofU.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/151,013, filed on Feb. 9,2009, the disclosures of which are expressly incorporated herein byreference in their entireties.

BACKGROUND

Disaster recovery (“DR”) is one of the most pressing issues faced by thestorage industry today. DR generally refers to solutions for recoveringcritical data and/or resuming operation of storage systems and othertechnology infrastructure. Various factors may be considered whenarchitecting a DR solution. Examples of these factors may includeService Level Agreements (“SLA”), meeting a tolerable Recovery PointObjective (“RPO”), and/or meeting a tolerable Recovery Time Objective(“RTO”). Other factors may include affordability, ease, robustness,reliability, and manageability with respect to each particular solution.

A conventional solution for recovering lost data in the event of adisaster is storage replication, in which data is written to multiplestorage devices across a computer network. Storage replication mayinclude synchronous replication and asynchronous replication. Insynchronous replication, each I/O operation by an application server toa primary storage device is replicated on a secondary storage devicebefore the primary storage device acknowledges the application server.This acknowledgement is made after the I/O operations on both theprimary storage device and the secondary storage device are completed.In this way, the primary storage device and the secondary storage deviceare always “synchronized.” In asynchronous replication, the primarystorage device acknowledges the application server upon completing eachI/O operation without waiting for the secondary storage device toreplicate the I/O operation. The application server can then continueperforming additional I/O operations on the primary storage device. TheI/O operations completed on the primary storage device may be replicatedon the secondary storage device according to a specified replicationrate.

While synchronous replication implementations ensure the consistency ofdata between the primary and the secondary storage devices during normalrunning times, the synchronization can be severed when either one orboth of the storage devices fail or the network connecting the storagedevices fails. In such instances, even if both of the storage devicesare synchronized, the two storage devices can become out of sync due tothe momentary I/O traffic happening from the application server. Now, ifany of the storage devices were to continue receiving I/O operationsfrom the application server, then the difference between the two storagedevices will keep increasing. This difference, known as a “tab,” may bemaintained in the memory of the active storage device so that the otherstorage device can be synchronized when it becomes available again. Thisdifference may also be persisted on a non-volatile medium, such as disk,to ensure that this tab information is not lost across power failures.This difference stored on disk, known as the “gate,” is persisted basedon a write-intent logging mechanism that records the intention toperform a write I/O operation to the disk prior to performing it.

The difference information, i.e., the tab and the gate, often includesmuch more than the differences created after the communication failurebetween the two storage devices. For example, the difference informationmay also include a record of all the I/O operations that happened priorto the failure and might have been held on volatile cache memory ofeither storage device. Since this information, which was previouslysynchronized but not persisted to the non-volatile media, could be lostdue to a power failure in the storage devices, this information may alsobe tabbed and gated. Thus, the operation of tabbing and gating, whilenecessary, may often result in excess data traffic during there-synchronization of the storage devices, thereby wasting bandwidth andprocessing cycles.

Some implementations of asynchronous replication utilize snapshots,which are point-in-time images of a given storage volume. Snapshots maybe taken at a specified snapshot rate on a primary storage device andreplicated on a secondary storage device across a network at a specifiedreplication rate. In some cases, the primary storage device and thesecondary storage device may have different retention rates, whichspecify the amount of time that snapshots are stored on the respectivestorage devices. For example, the secondary storage device may storefewer snapshots than the primary storage device.

During a DR scenario, the primary storage device may revert back to aprevious snapshot prior to the failure. In order to synchronize theprimary storage device and the secondary storage device, the secondarystorage device may also need to revert back to the same snapshot.However, if the primary storage device and the secondary storage devicehave different retention rates, then the secondary storage device mayhave already deleted that snapshot. In conventional implementations, thesecondary storage device reverts back to the earliest stored snapshotthat corresponds to a matching snapshot in the primary storage device.Replication is then repeated from this snapshot forward. In the worstcase, the secondary storage device reverts back to a base blank volume,where replication is entirely repeated from the beginning. As such,these conventional implementations can be wasteful in terms ofbandwidth, time, cost metrics, and the like.

It is with respect to these and other considerations that the disclosuremade herein is presented.

SUMMARY

Technologies are described herein for providing various implementationsof assisted storage replication. In some implementations, informationlifecycle management (“ILM”) data is utilized to assist asynchronousreplication and synchronous replication. In some other implementations,snapshots are utilized to assist in synchronous replication.

Some technologies provide information lifecycle management(ILM)-assisted synchronous replication between a first storage serverhaving a first current state and a second storage server having a secondcurrent state. For example, a notification is received at the firststorage server that indicates the second storage server has resumedoperations following a failure that occurred at a failure time. At thistime, the first storage server is in the first current state and thesecond storage server is in the second current state that is differentthan the first current state. Then, ILM data for the first storageserver is retrieved, and at least one block of data on the first storageserver that was accessed after the failure time is identified. Afteridentifying the at least one block of data, the identified block of datais re-synchronized between the first storage server and the secondstorage server.

In some implementations, re-synchronizing the at least one identifiedblock of data between the first storage server and the second storageserver can place the second storage server in the first current state.Alternatively or additionally, re-synchronizing the at least oneidentified block of data between the first storage server and the secondstorage server can include re-synchronizing only the at least oneidentified block of data.

Additionally, the ILM data can include a timestamp indicating a lastaccess time of at least one block of data on the first storage server.

In some implementations, identifying at least one block of data caninclude identifying at least one block of data accessed after a buffertime. The buffer time can be the failure time minus a time-out period oftime.

Optionally, upon re-synchronizing the first storage server and thesecond storage server, synchronous replication of I/O operations betweenthe first storage server and the second storage server can resume. Forexample, an I/O operation can be received at the first storage server,and the I/O operation can be replicated to the second storage serverbefore acknowledging the I/O operation.

It should be understood that the above-described subject matter may alsobe implemented as a computer-controlled apparatus, a computer process, acomputing system, or an article of manufacture, such as acomputer-readable storage medium.

This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in asimplified form that are further described below in the DetailedDescription. This Summary is not intended to identify key features oressential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intendedthat this Summary be used to limit the scope of the claimed subjectmatter. Furthermore, the claimed subject matter is not limited toimplementations that solve any or all disadvantages noted in any part ofthis disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a network architecture diagram of a storage replication systemconfigured to implement embodiments of a novel implementation ofinformation lifecycle management (“ILM”) assisted replication, inaccordance with some embodiments;

FIG. 2 is a diagram of a replication sequence between a primary storageserver and a secondary storage server across a network, in accordancewith some embodiments;

FIG. 3 is a diagram of an ILM assisted recovery sequence, in accordancewith some embodiments;

FIG. 4 is a diagram of a replication process utilizing the ILM data, inaccordance with some embodiments;

FIG. 5 is a network architecture diagram of a storage replication systemconfigured to implement embodiments of another novel implementation ofILM assisted replication, in accordance with some embodiments;

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram showing aspects of a method provided herein forproviding ILM-assisted asynchronous replication, in accordance with someembodiments;

FIG. 7 is a flow diagram showing aspects of a method provided herein forproviding snapshot-assisted synchronous replication, in accordance withsome embodiments;

FIG. 8 is a flow diagram showing aspects of a method provided herein forproviding ILM-assisted synchronous replication, in accordance with someembodiments; and

FIG. 9 is a computer architecture diagram showing aspects of anillustrative computer hardware architecture for a computing systemcapable of implementing aspects of the embodiments presented herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following detailed description is directed to technologies forutilizing information lifecycle management (“ILM”) data and snapshots toprovide more efficient storage replication, in accordance with someembodiments. In some embodiments, technologies for utilizing ILM data toassist snapshot-assisted replication are provided. In other embodiments,technologies for utilizing snapshots to assist synchronous replicationare provided. In yet other embodiments, technologies for utilizing ILMdata to assist synchronous replication are provided.

As used herein, a “snapshot” refers to an image of a given data volumeat a particular point in time. In an example implementation, a storagereplication solution may take a snapshot of a first data volume. Upontaking the snapshot, the storage replication solution may transfer thesnapshot to a second data volume over a network. The storage replicationsolution may then write the snapshot into the second data volume,thereby replicating the snapshot. Upon writing the snapshot into thesecond data volume, the storage replication solution may take anadditional snapshot of the second data volume so that primary andsecondary snapshots are same. This snapshot replication solution cancontinue for additional data volumes as desired.

The storage replication solution may take multiple snapshots of thefirst data volume at a predefined schedule or under the direction of anadministrator. The storage replication solution may then replicate thesnapshots through synchronous or asynchronous replication. In the eventof a disaster that corrupts the first data volume, the administrator canrestore the first data volume based on at least one of the replicatedsnapshots. A greater number of replicated snapshots may provide agreater number of recovery points (also referred to as consistencypoints) from which the administrator can restore the first data volume.

In some implementations, the storage replication solution may implementsnapshot-assisted replication. In snapshot-assisted replication, thestorage replication solution may generate an initial snapshot of thefirst data volume and replicate the initial snapshot on the second datavolume. When the storage replication solution generates each additionalsnapshot following the initial snapshot, the storage replicationsolution does not replicate the entire additional snapshot on the seconddata volume. Instead, the storage replication solution replicates onlydelta data (i.e., block-level differences) between each additionalsnapshot and the immediately preceding snapshot. Thus, the delta datamay include new data and modified data, but might not include old datathat remains the same. By implementing snapshot-assisted replication,the storage replication solution can significantly reduce the amount ofdata that needs to be replicated.

While the subject matter described herein is presented in the generalcontext of program modules that execute in conjunction with theexecution of an operating system and application programs on a computersystem, those skilled in the art will recognize that otherimplementations may be performed in combination with other types ofprogram modules. Generally, program modules include routines, programs,components, data structures, and other types of structures that performparticular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. Moreover,those skilled in the art will appreciate that the subject matterdescribed herein may be practiced with other computer systemconfigurations, including hand-held devices, multiprocessor systems,microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronics,minicomputers, mainframe computers, and the like.

In the following detailed description, references are made to theaccompanying drawings that form a part hereof, and which are shown byway of illustration, specific embodiments, or examples. Referring now tothe drawings, in which like numerals represent like elements through theseveral figures, FIG. 1 shows an illustrative network architecturediagram of a storage replication system 100 configured to implementembodiments of a novel implementation of information life cyclemanagement (“ILM”) assisted asynchronous replication described herein.According to some embodiments, the storage replication system 100 isadapted to perform asynchronous replication. In particular, the storagereplication system 100 may include a primary storage server 102 and asecondary storage server 104 coupled via a network 106. Although onlytwo storage servers 102, 104 are illustrated in FIG. 1, it should beappreciated that the storage replication system 100 may implementadditional storage servers.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, the primary storage server 102 may include adata storage unit 108, a primary replication module 110, and an ILMmodule 112. The data storage unit 108 may store a data volume 116,multiple snapshots including an initial snapshot 118 and an additionalsnapshot 120, and delta data 122. The primary replication module 110 mayinclude a snapshot schedule 130, a replication schedule 132, and aretention policy 134. The ILM module 112 may provide ILM data 124. Alsoas illustrated in FIG. 1, the secondary storage server 104 includes asecondary replication module 126 and a data storage unit 128. The datastorage unit 128 may store data, including the initial snapshot 118 andthe delta data 122, corresponding to the snapshot replication processperformed by the primary replication module 110 and the secondaryreplication module 126. The data storage unit 128 may further store areplicated data volume 140 and multiple snapshots, including a secondarysnapshot 142, of the replicated data volume 140. The secondaryreplication module 126 may include a retention policy 136. As usedherein, a snapshot is “replicated” if the entire snapshot or thecorresponding delta data has been written to the data storage unit 128.Further, as used herein, a “replicated snapshot” may refer to either asnapshot or delta data that has been written to the data storage unit128.

According to some embodiments, the primary replication module 110 maytake the initial snapshot 118 of the data volume 116. Upon taking theinitial snapshot 118, the primary replication module 110 may transferthe initial snapshot 118 to the secondary storage server 104 over thenetwork 106. The secondary replication module 126 may receive theinitial snapshot 118 and write the initial snapshot 118 to the datastorage unit 128. The secondary replication module 126 may alsoreplicate the data volume 116 on the replicated data volume 140 based onthe initial snapshot 118.

After the taking the initial snapshot 118, the primary replicationmodule 110 may take additional snapshots, such as the additionalsnapshot 120. Upon taking the additional snapshot 120, the primaryreplication module 110 may generate the delta data 122 identifying theblock-level differences between the immediately preceding snapshot (inthis case, the initial snapshot 118) and the additional snapshot 120.For example, the delta data 122 may include new data and modified data,but might not include old data that remains the same. The primaryreplication module 110 may then transfer the delta data 122, instead ofthe entire additional snapshot 120, to the secondary storage server 104over the network 106. The secondary replication module 126 may receivethe delta data 122 and write the delta data 122 to the data storage unit128. The secondary replication module 126 may also update the replicateddata volume 140 based on the delta data 122. Upon updating thereplicated data volume 140, the secondary replication module 126 maytake the secondary snapshot 142 of the replicated data volume 140.

According to some embodiments, the primary replication module 110 maytake snapshots, such as the initial snapshot 118 and the additionalsnapshot 120, at a predefined schedule, such as the snapshot schedule130, or upon the direction of an administrator. Further, the primaryreplication module 110 may replicate the snapshots at a predefinedschedule, such as the replication schedule 132, or upon the direction ofan administrator. The snapshot schedule 130 and the replication schedule132 may be configured according to any suitable criteria.

During a DR scenario, the primary storage server 102 may roll back thedata volume 116 according to a previous snapshot prior to the failure.In order to synchronize the primary storage server 102 and the secondarystorage server 104, the secondary storage server 104 may also need toroll back the replicated data volume 140 according to the same snapshot.However, if the primary storage server 102 and the secondary storageserver 104 have different retention rates as specified by the retentionpolicies 134, 136, then the secondary storage server 104 may havealready deleted that snapshot. For example, the secondary storage server104 may have a different retention policy than the primary storageserver 102 because the secondary storage server 104 stores replicatedsnapshots from multiple primary storage servers. In this case, thesecondary storage server 104 may store only a limited number ofreplicated snapshots for each primary storage server due to storagecapacity constraints.

In conventional implementations, the secondary storage server 104 rollsback the replicated data volume 140 according to the earliest storedsnapshot that corresponds to a matching snapshot in the primary storageserver 102. The snapshot replication process as previously described isthen repeated from this snapshot forward in order to synchronize thesecondary storage server 104 with the primary storage server 102. In theworst case, the secondary storage server 104 rolls back the replicateddata volume 140 to a base blank volume, where the replication process isentirely repeated from the beginning.

Referring now to FIG. 2, additional details regarding snapshot-assistedreplication will be described according to some embodiments. Asillustrated in FIG. 2, a diagram 200 shows a replication sequencebetween the primary storage server 102 and the secondary storage server104 across the network 106. In particular, the diagram 200 includes afirst timeline 202 and a second timeline 204. The first timeline 202shows the time when snapshots are taken by the primary replicationmodule 110. The primary replication module 110 may take the snapshotsaccording to the snapshot schedule 130. In relation to the firsttimeline 202, the second timeline 204 shows the time when the primaryreplication module 110 and the secondary replication module 126replicates the snapshots taken by the primary replication module 110.The primary replication module 110 and the secondary replication module126 may replicate the snapshots according to the replication schedule132. A transfer portion 206 shows data transfers across the network 106between the primary replication module 110 and the secondary replicationmodule 126.

In the example illustrated in FIG. 2, the primary replication module 110takes the initial snapshot 118 at a first time 208A according to thesnapshot schedule 130. Upon taking the initial snapshot 118, the primaryreplication module 110 transfers the initial snapshot 118 to thesecondary storage server 104. The secondary replication module 126 thenreceives the initial snapshot 118 and completes writing the initialsnapshot 118 to the data storage unit 128 at a second time 208B, whichfollows the first time 208A.

The primary replication module 110 takes a first additional snapshot120A at a third time 208C according to the snapshot schedule 130. Aspreviously described, the primary replication module 110 may transfercorresponding first delta data 122A, rather than the entire firstadditional snapshot 120A. The first delta data 122A may represent theblock-level differences between the initial snapshot 118 and the firstadditional snapshot 120A. Upon taking the first additional snapshot120A, the primary replication module 110 computes and transfers thefirst delta data 122A to the secondary storage server 104 according tothe replication schedule 132. The secondary replication module 126 thenreceives the first delta data 122A and writes the first delta data 122Ato the data storage unit 128 at a fourth time 208D, which follows thethird time 208C.

The primary replication module 110 continues to take a second additionalsnapshot 120B, and additional snapshots including an Nth additionalsnapshot 120N at a fifth time 208E and a time 208N, respectively,according to the snapshot schedule 130. The primary replication module110 computes and transfers corresponding second delta data 122B and Nthdelta data 122N to the secondary storage server 104 according to thereplication schedule 132. The secondary replication module 126 thenreceives the second delta data 122B and writes the second delta data122B to the data storage unit 128 at a sixth time 208F. The secondaryreplication module 126 also receives the Nth delta data 122N and writesthe Nth delta data 122N to the data storage unit 128 at a time 208O.

Referring now to FIG. 3, additional details regarding the operation ofthe primary replication module 110 and the secondary replication module126 will be described according to some embodiments. As illustrated inFIG. 3, a diagram 300 shows an ILM-assisted recovery sequence betweenthe primary storage server 102 and the secondary storage server 104. Inparticular, the diagram 300 includes a first timeline 302 and a secondtimeline 304. The first timeline 302 shows snapshots taken by theprimary replication module 110 and currently stored on the data storageunit 108 according to the retention policy 134. The second timeline 304shows replicated snapshots currently stored on the data storage unit 128according to the retention policy 136. A dashed line 306 represents thecurrent replication point within the replication sequence.

In an illustrative example, the retention policy 134 indicates that thedata storage unit 108 stores one hundred snapshots at a given time, andthe retention policy 136 indicates that the data storage unit 128 storesfour snapshots at a given time. In other examples, the retention policy134 may indicate that the data storage unit 128 stores more snapshotsthan the data storage unit 108. As illustrated in FIG. 3, at the timeindicated by dashed line 306, the data storage unit 108 on the primarystorage server 102 stores the first through tenth snapshots. However,the data storage unit 128 on the secondary storage server 104 storesonly the sixth through ninth snapshots. The primary replication module110 and the secondary replication module 126 may enforce the retentionpolicy 134 and the retention policy 136, respectively, according to afirst-in-first-out (“FIFO”) basis. For example, the dashed line 306indicates that the tenth snapshot is being replicated but has not yetbeen completed. When the tenth snapshot completes replicating, thesecondary replication module 126 may erase the sixth snapshot from thedata storage unit 128 because the sixth snapshot is the earliestreplicated snapshot.

According to some embodiments, the primary replication module 110 andthe secondary replication module 126 operates differently according tothree DR scenarios. In the first DR scenario, the primary replicationmodule 110 rolls back the data volume 116 according to a snapshot thathas yet to be replicated. In this case, the primary replication module110 and the secondary replication module 126 simply wait until thesnapshot is replicated. For example, if the primary storage server 102rolls back the data volume 116 according to the tenth snapshot asindicated at 312, then the primary replication module 110 waits untilthe tenth snapshot has completed replicating. The primary replicationmodule 110 then proceeds to continue taking snapshots and replicatingsnapshots from the tenth snapshot according to the snapshot schedule 130and the replication schedule 132.

In the second DR scenario, the primary replication module 110 rolls backthe data volume 116 according to a previous snapshot that has beenreplicated and is present on the secondary storage server 104. In thiscase, the primary replication module 110 rolls back the data volume 116according to the previous snapshot. The secondary replication module 126also rolls back the replicated data volume 140 according to the previoussnapshot in order to ensure that the secondary storage server 104 issynchronized with the primary storage server 102. For example, if theprimary storage server 102 rolls back the data volume 116 according tothe ninth snapshot as indicated at 314, then the secondary replicationmodule 126 also rolls back the replicated data volume 140 according tothe ninth snapshot, thereby synchronizing the secondary storage server104 with the primary storage server 102. The primary replication module110 then proceeds to continue taking snapshots and replicating snapshotsfrom the ninth snapshot according to the snapshot schedule 130 and thereplication schedule 132.

In the third DR scenario, the primary replication module 110 rolls backthe data volume 116 according to a previous snapshot that has beenreplicated and is not present on the secondary storage server 104. Sincethe previous snapshot is not present on the secondary storage server104, the primary replication module 110 and the secondary replicationmodule 126 cannot synchronize the data storage unit 108 and the datastorage unit 128 based on the previous snapshot. In this case, thesecondary replication module 126 may retrieve the ILM data 124 from theILM module 112. According to some embodiments, the ILM data 124specifies, among other things, the last time (e.g., through a timestamp)that a given block of data (or more than one block of data, depending onthe defined granularity) was accessed. The ILM data 124 may track thelast (i.e., the most recent) access time for every block of data in thedata storage unit 108 and the data storage unit 128. Since the ILM data124 tracks the blocks that were accessed in both of the data storageunit 108 and the data storage unit 128, the secondary replication module126 need only roll back the replicated data volume 140 according to themost recent consistency point between the data storage unit 108 and thedata storage unit 128 at or prior to the previous snapshot. The lastconsistency point may refer to the time of the last snapshot that wassuccessfully replicated.

For example, if the primary storage server 102 rolls back the datavolume 116 according to the fifth snapshot as indicated at 314, then theprimary replication module 110 rolls back the data volume 116 accordingto the fifth snapshot. However, the secondary replication module 126cannot roll back the replicated data volume 140 according to the fifthsnapshot because the fifth snapshot has been removed from the datastorage unit 128. Thus, the secondary replication module 126 retrievesthe ILM data 124, which indicates that the last consistency point at orprior to the fifth snapshot was at the time of the fifth snapshot. Thatis, the fifth snapshot was previously successfully replicated betweenthe primary storage server 102 and the secondary storage server 104. Assuch, the secondary replication module 126 rolls back the data storageunit 128 to the state of the data storage unit 128 at the time of thefifth snapshot based on the ILM data 124. In essence, through the ILMdata 124, the secondary replication module 126 can roll back the datastorage unit 128 according to the fifth snapshot even when the fifthsnapshot is unavailable.

Referring now to FIG. 4, additional details regarding the third DRscenario will be described where the primary replication module 110rolls back the data volume 116 to a previous snapshot that has beenreplicated, but is no longer present on the secondary storage server104, according to some embodiments. As illustrated in FIG. 4, a diagram400 shows a replication process utilizing the ILM data 124. Inparticular, the diagram 400 includes a first state 402 of the datavolume 116 and a second state 404 of the data volume 116. The firststate 402 may correspond to a first snapshot 412A, and the second state404 may correspond to a second snapshot 412B. The first snapshot 412Aand the second snapshot 412B may be stored in the data storage unit 108.

The second state 404 may represent the most recent contents of the datavolume 116 for which a snapshot has been taken and is being replicated.In an illustrative example, the first snapshot 412A is not stored in thedata storage unit 128 of the secondary storage server 104 at the time ofthe rollback. For example, the retention policy 136 may have caused thecorresponding replicated snapshot to be erased. The diagram 400 furthershows a current state 406 of the replicated data volume 140. It will beappreciated that the current state 406 of the replicated data volume 140matches the second state 404 of the data volume 116 because the currentstate 406 of the replicated data volume 140 corresponds to the mostrecently replicated snapshot, which is the second snapshot 412B.

In an example DR scenario, the primary replication module 110 rolls backthe data volume 116 to the first snapshot 412A. Since the first snapshot412A is not stored on the data storage unit 128 of the secondary storageserver 104 at the time of the rollback, the secondary replication module126 retrieves the ILM data 124 from the ILM module 112. The secondaryreplication module 126 then identifies the last consistent point commonto the data volume 116 and the replicated data volume 140 at or prior tothe first snapshot 412A based on the ILM data 124. In this example, theILM data 124 specifies that this last consistent point is the point isin the time of the first snapshot 412A. As such, the secondaryreplication module 126 rolls back the data volume 116 to the first state402 corresponding to the first snapshot 412A. According to someembodiments, the ILM data 124 specifies, through the access timestamps,data that has been changed between the first state 402 and the secondstate 404. For example, the ILM data 124 may specify that a first block“A” in the first state 402 has been changed to “E” in the second state404. The ILM data 124 may further specify that a third block “C” in thefirst state 402 has been changed to “F” in the second state 404.

In this example, the primary replication module 110 may replicate onlythe first block “A” and the second block “C” as contained in replicateddata 414. The secondary replication module 126 may receive thereplicated data 414 and update the contents of the replicated datavolume 140. In particular, the secondary replication module 126 maychange the first block from “E” back to “A” and change the third blockfrom “F” back to “C”. The second block “B” remains the same, and thus,is not contained in the replicated data 414. In this way, primarystorage server 102 is synchronized with the secondary storage server104. The primary replication module 110 then proceeds to continue takingsnapshots and replicating snapshots from the first snapshot 412Aaccording to the snapshot schedule 130 and the replication schedule 132.

Referring now to FIG. 5, an illustrative network architecture diagram ofa storage replication system 500 configured to implement embodiments ofnovel implementations of ILM assisted synchronous replication andsnapshot assisted synchronous replication are shown. According to someembodiments, the storage replication system 500 is adapted to performsynchronous replication. In particular, the storage replication system500 may include a primary storage server 502, a secondary storage server504, and an application server 506 coupled via a network 106. Althoughonly two storage servers 502, 504 are illustrated in FIG. 5, it shouldbe appreciated that the storage replication system 500 may implementadditional storage servers.

As illustrated in FIG. 5, the primary storage server 502 includes aprimary server module 508, an ILM module 510, a cache 512, and a datastorage unit 514. The secondary storage server 504 includes a secondaryserver module 516, a cache 518, and a data storage unit 520. Accordingto some embodiments, the application server 506 transmits one or moreinput/output (“I/O”) operations 522 to the primary storage server 502.The primary server module 508 receives the I/O operations 522 andperforms the I/O operations 522 on the data storage unit 514. Theprimary server module 508 simultaneously or near simultaneously sendsthe I/O operations 522 to the secondary storage server 504 when the I/Ooperations are “write” operations The secondary server module 516receives the write I/O operations 522 and also performs the write I/Ooperations 522 on the data storage unit 520.

When the I/O operations 522 include write operations to write I/O data524, the I/O data 524 may be cached on the caches 512, 518 prior tobeing copied to the data storage units 514, 520. The caches 512, 518 mayimplement either a write-through cache or a write-back cache. If thecaches 512, 518 are implemented as write-through caches, then the writeI/O data 524 stored in the caches 512, 518 are immediately flushed intothe data storage units 514, 520, respectively. When the I/O data 524 areflushed to the data storage units 514, 520, the primary server module508 may send an acknowledgment to the application server 506 that thewrite I/O operations 522 have been performed. In the case ofwrite-through caches, the primary server module 508 does not send theacknowledgment until the I/O data 524 have been persisted to the datastorage units 514, 520. However, if the caches 512, 518 are implementedas write-back caches, then the primary server module 508 may send theacknowledgment upon caching the I/O data 524 and before the I/O data 524have been persisted to the data storage units 514, 520. The write I/Ooperations 522 stored in the caches 512, 518 are later flushed into thedata storage units 514, 520 according to the defined write-back cachepolicy.

A number of problems may occur if the primary storage server 502 and/orthe secondary storage server 504 experience a power failure or othersuitable failure that takes down the primary storage server 502 and/orthe secondary storage server 504. In one example, the secondary storageserver 504 may experience a power failure. At the time of the powerfailure, at least some of the I/O data 524 may be stored in the cache518 but not yet persisted to the data storage unit 520. If the cache 518is implemented as a write-back cache, the secondary server module 516may have already sent an acknowledgment to the primary server module 508when the I/O data 524 was stored in the cache 518. When the secondarystorage server 504 resumes power, the contents of the data storage unit520 may be inconsistent with the contents of the data storage unit 514.

In another example, the primary storage server 502 may experience apower failure, causing the secondary storage server 504 to become thenew active primary storage server. As the new active primary storageserver, the secondary storage server 504 may receive and perform new I/Ooperations from the application server 506. When the primary storageserver 502 resumes power, the contents of the data storage unit 514 maybe inconsistent with the contents of the data storage unit 520. Thisinconsistency may include I/O operations that were “in process” betweenthe application server 506 and the secondary storage server 504. Thisinconsistency may further include I/O data that was cached in the cache512 but not persisted to the data storage unit 514, as well as I/Ooperations that were performed on the primary storage server 502 but notyet replicated on the secondary storage server 504.

Two approaches are available to resynchronize the I/O operations 522between the primary storage server 502 and the secondary storage server504. In the first approach known as “gating” or “write-intent logging”(“WIL”), the primary server module 508 maintains a gate 526, and thesecondary server module 516 maintains a gate 528. In some embodiments,the gate 526 on the primary storage server 502 represents a logicalbitmap image of the data storage unit 514 at a specified granularity,and the gate 528 on the secondary storage server 504 represents alogical bitmap image of the data storage unit 520 at a specifiedgranularity. For example, when the primary server module 508 receivesthe I/O operations 522, the primary server module 508 sets the bits inthe gate 526 that correspond to the blocks on the data storage unit 514that are affected by the I/O operations 522. When the gate 526 ispersisted to the data storage unit 514, the primary server module 508performs the I/O operations 522.

The primary server module 508 also sends the I/O operations 522 to thesecondary server module 516. When the secondary server module 516receives the I/O operations 522, the secondary server module 516 setsthe bits in the gate 528 that correspond to the blocks on the datastorage unit 520 that are affected by the I/O operations 522. When thegate 528 is persisted to the data storage unit 520, the secondary servermodule 516 performs the I/O operations 522. When the I/O data 524 hasbeen flushed from the caches 512, 518 to the data storage units 514,520, the primary server module 508 may acknowledge the applicationserver 506, and the gates 526, 528 may be cleared.

Gating may attempt to track every I/O operation that can potentiallycause a difference between the primary storage server 502 and thesecondary storage server 504. However, actual differences may not occuruntil there is some failure. Gating all I/O operations can requiretracking and persisting every block that is affected by an I/O operationand serializing the I/O operation prior to performing the I/O operation.As a result, gating may cause a significant performance hit on the I/Ooperations from the application server 506. Further, since data in boththe primary storage server 502 and the secondary storage server 504 needto be protected, two corresponding gates 526, 528 are typicallyutilized.

The need for gating may be mitigated by having a large timeout 530 inthe primary storage server 502 during which relevant bits on the gate526 will not be cleared even after the I/O operations 522 for thecorresponding bits have been completed. The timeout 530 can beconfigured to provide enough time to ensure that the caches 512, 518have been flushed before the gate 526 is cleared. Gating can be furtherimproved by increasing the granularity of the gates 526, 528. Forexample, instead of having each bit associated with one block on thedata storage units 514, 520, each bit may be associated with multipleblocks on the data storage units 514, 520. This can reduce the number oftimes that the gates 526, 528 are stored on the data storage units 514,520. Despite these improvements, gating may still impact storage systemperformance. The gating process may also cause a large amount of data tobe resynchronized on a connection reinstatement even though some of thisdata may have already been synchronized previously.

In an effort to address the drawbacks of gating, the primary servermodule 508 may utilize snapshots 532, 533. In particular, the primaryserver module 508 and the secondary server module 516 may take thesnapshots 532, 533 according to a given snapshot schedule, such as thesnapshot schedule 130. The snapshots 532 and the snapshots 533 may beidentical. In an illustrative example, the secondary storage server 504may experience a failure, and the primary storage server 502 maycontinue receiving new I/O operations from the application server 506after the failure, causing the primary storage server 502 to be out ofsync with the secondary storage server 504. When the secondary storageserver 504 resumes operation, the last common snapshot between theprimary storage server 502 and the secondary storage server 504 at thetime of the failure may be utilized to resynchronize the primary storageserver 502 and the secondary storage server 504. By increasing thefrequency at which the snapshots 532, 533 are taken, a greater number ofconsistency points between the primary server module 508 and thesecondary server module 516 may also be provided.

Although the snapshots 532, 533 provide a way to resynchronize theprimary server module 508 and the secondary server module 516 after afailure of the primary server module 508 and/or the secondary servermodule 516, the snapshots 532 do not provide a way to identify whetherthe secondary server module 516 has completed its outstanding I/Ooperations 522 and flushed the corresponding I/O data 524 to the cache518. Also, resynchronization based on the last common snapshot may causesome data that is already synchronized to be retransmitted. Further, ifany of the snapshots 532 have been deleted, common snapshots may not beavailable or suboptimal.

According to some embodiments, instead of relying on gating orsnapshots, the primary server module 508 may utilize ILM data 534retrieved from the ILM module 510. In particular, the ILM data 534 mayinclude last timestamps indicating the last time that each block (ormore than one block, depending on the defined granularity) was accessedon the data storage units 514, 520. When a failure occurs, any lasttimestamps indicating blocks that were accessed after the time of thefailure may indicate data that is not consistent between the primarystorage server 502 and the secondary storage server 504. In anillustrative example, if the secondary storage server 504 fails and theprimary storage server 502 continues to receive I/O writes from theapplication server 506, the primary storage server 502 and the secondarystorage server 504 may become out of sync. When the secondary storageserver 504 resumes operating, the secondary server module 516 maysynchronize those blocks in the data storage unit 520 that have beenaccessed since the time of the failure according to the ILM data 534.

Further, at the time of the failure, some of the I/O data 524 may becached in the caches 512, 518 but not yet persisted to the data storageunits 514, 520. In order to address the possibility of such data in thecaches 512, 518, the primary server module 508 may analyze not only lasttimestamps indicating blocks that were accessed after the time of thefailure but also last timestamps indicating blocks that were accessedbefore the time of the last failure minus the timeout 530. This may alsobe referred to herein as a “timeout buffer.” As previously described,the timeout 530 can be configured to provide enough time to ensure thatthe caches 512, 518 have been flushed. For example, if a server fails at3 PM and the timeout 530 is one hour, then the primary server module 508may identify blocks that were accessed after 2 PM (i.e., 3 PM minus theone hour timeout buffer). The primary storage server 502 and thesecondary storage server 504 may synchronize based on the identifiedblocks.

Unlike snapshot assisted replication, in synchronous replication everyI/O operation represents a consistent image of the data storage units514, 520, as both the data storage units 514, 520 field each I/Ooperation simultaneously or near simultaneously on the request of theapplication server 506. In other words, since both the data storageunits 514, 520 complete the I/O operations before acknowledging theapplication server 506, both the data storage units 514, 520 have aimage that is consistent and same from the perspective of theapplication server 506.

However, as previously described, upon a failure in either the primarystorage server 502 or the secondary storage server 504, this consistentimage can be lost by outstanding I/O operations and unsaved write-backcaches. For example, the secondary storage server 504 may fail. Untilthe secondary storage server 504 recovers, the secondary storage server504 will continue to become more and more out of sync with the primarystorage server 502, which will continue to receive I/O writes from theapplication server 506. Hence, when the secondary storage server 504recovers later on, the secondary storage server 504 may need to find acommon and consistent image between the data storage units 514, 520 andcontinue replication from thereon.

In some embodiments described herein, the common consistent image isrepresented by some point in time before the failure happened (i.e.,when all data in write-back caches in the failed system got completed).It will be appreciated that every block of the volume may have differentpoints in time where the ILM access timestamp could be the same. Hence,unlike snapshot assisted replication, the consistent points may varyfrom block to block in the system. Accordingly, the process ofresynchronization may compare each block (at a configured granularity)for the last write timestamp. Only those blocks that do not match may beresynchronized. As a result, any overhead and performance impact causedby resynchronizing data that is already synchronized may be eliminated.

Referring now to FIGS. 6, 7, and 8, additional details will be providedregarding the utilization of the ILM data 124, the snapshots 532, 533,and the ILM data 534. In particular, FIG. 6 is a flow diagramillustrating aspects of a method provided herein for providingILM-assisted asynchronous replication. FIG. 7 is a flow diagramillustrating aspects of a method provided herein providingsnapshot-assisted synchronous replication. FIG. 8 is a flow diagramillustrating aspects of a method provided herein for providingILM-assisted synchronous replication. While embodiments described hereinprimarily utilize ILM data provided by an ILM module, it should beappreciated that other embodiments may utilize similar data from otherdata sources.

It should be appreciated that the logical operations described hereinare implemented (1) as a sequence of computer implemented acts orprogram modules running on a computing system and/or (2) asinterconnected machine logic circuits or circuit modules within thecomputing system. The implementation is a matter of choice dependent onthe performance and other requirements of the computing system.Accordingly, the logical operations described herein are referred tovariously as states, operations, structural devices, acts, or modules.These operations, structural devices, acts, and modules may beimplemented in software, in firmware, in special purpose digital logic,and any combination thereof. It should be appreciated that more or feweroperations may be performed than shown in the figures and describedherein. These operations may also be performed in a different order thanthose described herein.

Referring to FIG. 6, a routine 600 may be performed by the primaryreplication module 110 and/or the secondary replication module 126. Atthe beginning the routine 600, the primary storage server 102 may be ina first current state, and the secondary storage server 104 may be in asecond current state. The routine 600 begins at operation 602, where theprimary replication module 110 receives an instruction to roll back theprimary storage server 102 from the first current state to a previousstate according to a previous snapshot. For example, an administrator ofthe primary storage server 102 may initiate the rollback during a DRscenario. The routine 600 then proceeds to operation 604, where theprimary replication module 110 rolls back the primary storage server 102according to the previous snapshot. When the primary replication module110 rolls back the primary storage server 102, the routine 600 proceedsto operation 606.

At operation 606, the primary replication module 110 determines whetherthe previous snapshot is available on the secondary storage server 104.If the previous snapshot is not available on the secondary storageserver 104, then the routine 600 proceeds to operation 608, where theprimary replication module 110 retrieves the ILM data 124 from the ILMmodule 112. In this case, the ILM data 124 may specify the last accesstime for each block in the primary storage server 102 and the secondarystorage server 104. The routine 600 then proceeds to operation 610,where the primary replication module 110 identifies the last consistencypoint common to the primary storage server 102 and the secondary storageserver 104 based on the retrieved ILM data 124. When the primaryreplication module 110 identifies the last consistency point, theroutine 600 proceeds to operation 612. At operation 612, the primaryreplication module 110 rolls back the secondary storage server 104 fromthe second current state to the last consistency point.

If the previous snapshot is available on the secondary storage server104, then the routine 600 proceeds to operation 614, where the secondaryreplication module 126 rolls back the data storage unit 128 from thesecond current state to the previous state according to a previoussnapshot. In further embodiments, if the previous snapshot has not yetbeen taken, then the secondary replication module 126 may wait until thesnapshot is replicated. After operations 612, 614, the routine 600terminates.

Referring to FIG. 7, a routine 700 may be performed by the primaryserver module 508 and/or the secondary server module 516. The routine700 begins at operation 702, where the secondary server module 516receives a notification that the primary server module 508 has resumedafter a failure at a failure time. For example, the failure may be apower failure. The routine 700 then proceeds to operation 704, where theprimary server module 508 identifies a last common snapshot between theprimary storage server 502 and the secondary storage server 504. Whenthe primary server module 508 identifies the last common snapshotbetween the primary storage server 502 and the secondary storage server504, the routine 700 proceeds to operation 706.

At operation 706, the primary server module 508 rolls back the primarystorage server 502 to the common snapshot. The routine 700 then proceedsto operation 708, where the primary server module 508 and the secondaryserver module 516 resynchronizes from the secondary storage server 504to the primary storage server 502 from the common snapshot. Uponresynchronizing the primary storage server 502 and the secondary storageserver 504 from the common snapshot, synchronize replication may resumebetween the primary storage server 502 and the secondary storage server504.

Referring to FIG. 8, a routine 800 may be performed by the primaryserver module 508 and/or the secondary server module 516. The routine800 begins at operation 802, where the primary server module 508receives a notification that the secondary server module 516 has resumedafter a failure at a failure time. For example, the failure may be apower failure. The routine 800 then proceeds to operation 804, where theprimary server module 508 retrieves the ILM data 534 from the ILM module510. In this case, the ILM data 534 may include last timestampsindicating the last time that each block (or more than one block,depending on the defined granularity) was accessed on the data storageunit 514.

The routine 800 proceeds to operation 806, where the primary servermodule 508 identifies blocks on the data storage unit 514 that wereaccessed after the failure time. In some embodiments, the failure timemay be further enhanced with a timeout buffer. As previously described,the timeout buffer may be configured to ensure that the I/O data 524 onthe cache 518 has been completely flushed. The routine 800 then proceedsto operation 808, where the primary server module 508 synchronizes theidentified blocks between the primary storage server 502 and thesecondary storage server 504. In some embodiments, the primary servermodule 508 may synchronize only the identified blocks. In this way,bandwidth is not wasted. After the operation 808, the routine 800terminates. In some embodiments, the primary server module 508 may alsoan acknowledgment to the application server 506 that the synchronizationis complete if required.

FIG. 9 and the following discussion are intended to provide a brief,general description of a suitable computing environment in which theembodiments described herein may be implemented. In particular, FIG. 9shows an exemplary storage system 900 including a storage computer, orstorage controller 902A, 902B (collectively and generically storagecontroller 902). Examples of the storage controller 902 include theprimary storage servers 102, 502 and the secondary storage servers 104,504. The storage controller 902 includes a baseboard, or “motherboard,”which is a printed circuit board to which a multitude of components ordevices may be connected by way of a system bus or other electricalcommunication paths. In one illustrative embodiment, one or more centralprocessing units (“CPUs”) 904 operate in conjunction with a chipset 906.The CPUs 904 are standard programmable processors that performarithmetic and logical operations necessary for the operation of thestorage controller 902.

The CPUs 904 perform the necessary operations by transitioning from onediscrete, physical state to the next through the manipulation ofswitching elements that differentiate between and change these states.Switching elements may generally include electronic circuits thatmaintain one of two binary states, such as flip-flops, and electroniccircuits that provide an output state based on the logical combinationof the states of one or more other switching elements, such as logicgates. These basic switching elements may be combined to create morecomplex logic circuits, including registers, adders-subtractors,arithmetic logic units, floating-point units, and the like.

The chipset 906 provides an interface between the CPUs 904 and theremainder of the storage controller 902. The chipset 906 also providesan interface to a random access memory (“RAM”) 908 used as the mainmemory in the storage controller 902. The chipset 906 also includesfunctionality for providing network connectivity through a networkcontroller 910, such as a gigabit Ethernet adapter. The networkcontroller 910 is capable of connecting the storage controllers 902A,902B to each other as well as to other client computers 912 acting asinitiators of I/O operations over a network 106. The network 106 may bean Ethernet or Gigabyte Ethernet LAN, a fiber ring, a fiber star,wireless, optical, satellite, a WAN, a MAN, or any other networktechnology, topology, protocol, or combination thereof.

According to embodiments, the storage controller 902 is connected to anumber of physical storage devices, such as physical disks 920A-920E(also referred to herein as physical disks 920) shown in FIG. 9. Thephysical disks 920 provide the data storage capacity required for thestorage controller 902 to store data and service I/O operationsinitiated by the client computers 912 over the network 914. A diskcontroller 918 allows the storage controller 902 to communicate with thephysical disks 920 connected to the storage controller. According to oneembodiment, the disk controller 918 may interface with the physicaldisks 920 through a serial attached SCSI (“SAS”) interface. In otherembodiments, the disk controller 918 may interface with the physicaldisks 920 utilizing a serial advanced technology attachment (“SATA”)interface, a fiber channel (“FC”) interface, or other standard interfacefor physically connecting and transferring data between computers andphysical storage devices.

According to embodiments, the physical disks 920 may be connected to thestorage controller 902 through a bus 922 that allows the disk controller918 to communicate with the disks. In one embodiment, the physical andelectrical structure of the bus 922 may be based upon the storage bridgebay (“SBB”) specification. The SBB specification defines mechanical,electrical, and low-level enclosure management requirements for a singleenclosure that supports the connection of multiple storage controllers902 as well as multiple physical disks 920 from a variety of hardwareand system vendors. The SBB mid-plane provides the bus 922 that allowsmultiple storage controller 902 to be connected to and communicate withthe physical disks 920 concurrently. According to embodiments, the diskcontroller 918 is capable of utilizing multiple point-to-pointcommunication channels, or ports 924A, 924B, to communicate with otherdevices over the SBB bus 922. For example, the disk controller 918 mayutilize one or more ports 924A to communicate with each physical disk920 across the bus 922, while utilizing a separate port 924B tocommunicate across the bus with another storage controller 902.

The storage controller 902 may store data on the physical disks 920 bytransforming the physical state of the disks to reflect the informationbeing stored. The specific transformation of physical state may dependon various factors, in different implementations of this description.Examples of such factors may include, but are not limited to, thetechnology used to implement the physical disks 920, whether thephysical disks are characterized as primary or secondary storage, andthe like. For example, the storage controller 902 may store data to thephysical disks 920 by issuing instructions to the disk controller 918 toalter the magnetic characteristics of particular locations within thephysical disk drives. These transformations may also include alteringthe physical features or characteristics of other media types, includingaltering the reflective or refractive characteristics of a particularlocation in an optical storage device, or modifying the electricalcharacteristics of a particular capacitor, transistor, or other discretecomponent in a solid-state storage device. Other transformations ofphysical media are possible without departing from the scope and spiritof the present description, with the foregoing examples provided only tofacilitate this discussion. The storage controller 902 may further readinformation from the physical disks 920 by detecting the physical statesor characteristics of one or more particular locations within thedevices.

In addition to the physical disks 920 described above, the storagecontroller 902 may have access to other computer-readable storage mediumto store and retrieve information, such as program modules, datastructures, or other data. It should be appreciated by those skilled inthe art that computer-readable storage media can be any available mediathat can be accessed by the storage controller 902. By way of example,and not limitation, computer-readable storage media may include volatileand non-volatile, removable and non-removable media implemented in anymethod or technology. Computer-readable storage media includes, but isnot limited to, RAM, ROM, EPROM, EEPROM, flash memory or othersolid-state memory technology, CD-ROM, DVD, HD-DVD, BLU-RAY, or otheroptical storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic diskstorage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium which canbe used to store the desired information and which can be accessed bythe storage controller 902.

The computer-readable storage media may store an operating system (notshown) utilized to control the operation of the storage controller 902.According to one embodiment, the operating system comprises the LINUXoperating system. According to another embodiment, the operating systemcomprises the WINDOWS® SERVER operating system from MICROSOFTCorporation of Redmond, Wash. According to further embodiments, theoperating system may comprise the UNIX or SOLARIS operating systems. Itshould be appreciated that other operating systems may also be utilized.

The computer-readable storage media may store other system orapplication programs and data utilized by the storage controller 902. Inone embodiment, the computer-readable storage medium may be encoded withcomputer-executable instructions that, when loaded into the storagecontroller 902, may transform the computer system from a general-purposecomputing system into special-purpose computer capable of implementingthe embodiments described herein. The computer-executable instructionsmay be encoded on the computer-readable storage medium by altering theelectrical, optical, magnetic, or other physical characteristics ofparticular locations within the media. These computer-executableinstructions transform the storage controller 902 by specifying how theCPUs 904 transitions between states, as described above. According toone embodiment, the storage controller 902 may have access tocomputer-readable storage media storing computer-executable instructionsthat, when executed by the computer system, perform the routines forproviding assisted storage replication, as described in greater detailabove with reference to FIGS. 1-8.

The chipset 906 may also provide an interface to a computer-readablestorage medium such as a ROM 926 or NVRAM for storing a firmware thatincludes program code containing the basic routines that help to startupthe storage controller 902 and to transfer information between elementswithin the storage controller. The ROM 924 or NVRAM may also store othersoftware components necessary for the operation of the storagecontroller 902 in accordance with the embodiments described herein. Itwill be appreciated that the storage controller 902 might not includeall of the components shown in FIG. 9, may include other components thatare not explicitly shown in FIG. 9, or may utilize an architecturecompletely different than that shown in FIG. 9.

Based on the foregoing, it should be appreciated that technologies forproviding ILM assisted asynchronous replication are presented herein.Although the subject matter presented herein has been described inlanguage specific to computer structural features, methodological acts,and computer readable media, it is to be understood that the inventiondefined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to thespecific features, acts, or media described herein. Rather, the specificfeatures, acts and mediums are disclosed as example forms ofimplementing the claims.

The subject matter described above is provided by way of illustrationonly and should not be construed as limiting. Various modifications andchanges may be made to the subject matter described herein withoutfollowing the example embodiments and applications illustrated anddescribed, and without departing from the true spirit and scope of thepresent invention, which is set forth in the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer-implemented method for informationlifecycle management (ILM)-assisted synchronous replication between afirst storage server and a second storage server, thecomputer-implemented method comprising: receiving a notification at thefirst storage server that the second storage server has resumedoperations following a failure, the first storage server being in afirst current state and the second storage server being in a secondcurrent state that is different than the first current state, whereinthe failure occurred at a failure time; retrieving ILM data for thefirst storage server; identifying at least one block of data on thefirst storage server that was accessed after a buffer time, the buffertime being the failure time minus a time-out period of time; andre-synchronizing the at least one identified block of data between thefirst storage server and the second storage server.
 2. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein re-synchronizing the atleast one identified block of data between the first storage server andthe second storage server places the second storage server in the firstcurrent state.
 3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, whereinthe ILM data comprises a timestamp indicating a last access time of atleast one block of data on the first storage server.
 4. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein re-synchronizing the atleast one identified block of data between the first storage server andthe second storage server further comprises re-synchronizing only the atleast one identified block of data.
 5. The computer-implemented methodof claim 1, further comprising upon re-synchronizing the first storageserver and the second storage server, resuming synchronous replicationof I/O operations between the first storage server and the secondstorage server.
 6. The computer-implemented method of claim 5, whereinresuming synchronous replication of I/O operations between the firststorage server and the second storage server further comprises:receiving an I/O operation at the first storage server; and replicatingthe I/O operation to the second storage server before acknowledging theI/O operation.
 7. A non-transitory computer-readable medium havingcomputer-executable instructions stored thereon for providinginformation lifecycle management (ILM)-assisted synchronous replicationbetween a first storage server and a second storage server that, whenexecuted by the first storage server, cause the first storage server to:receive a notification that the second storage server has resumedoperations following a failure, the first storage server being in afirst current state and the second storage server being in a secondcurrent state that is different than the first current state, whereinthe failure occurred at a failure time; retrieve ILM data for the firststorage server; identify at least one block of data on the first storageserver that was accessed after a buffer time, the buffer time being thefailure time minus a time-out period of time; and re-synchronize the atleast one identified block of data between the first storage server andthe second storage server.
 8. The non-transitory computer-readablemedium of claim 7, wherein re-synchronizing the at least one identifiedblock of data between the first storage server and the second storageserver places the second storage server in the first current state. 9.The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 7, wherein the ILMdata comprises a timestamp indicating a last access time of at least oneblock of data on the first storage server.
 10. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 7, wherein re-synchronizing the atleast one identified block of data between the first storage server andthe second storage server further comprises re-synchronizing only the atleast one identified block of data.
 11. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 7, having further computer-executableinstructions stored thereon that, when executed by the first storageserver, cause the first storage server to upon re-synchronizing thefirst storage server and the second storage server, resume synchronousreplication of I/O operations between the first storage server and thesecond storage server.
 12. The non-transitory computer-readable mediumof claim 11, wherein resuming synchronous replication of I/O operationsbetween the first storage server and the second storage server furthercomprises: receiving an I/O operation at the first storage server; andreplicating the I/O operation to the second storage server beforeacknowledging the I/O operation.
 13. A computer storage system forproviding information lifecycle management (ILM)-assisted synchronousreplication, comprising: a processor; a memory operatively coupled tothe processor; and a program module that executes in the processor fromthe memory and that, when executed by the processor, causes the computerstorage system to provide ILM-assisted synchronous replication between afirst storage server and a second storage server by: receiving anotification that the second storage server has resumed operationsfollowing a failure, the first storage server being in a first currentstate and the second storage server being in a second current state thatis different than the first current state, wherein the failure occurredat a failure time; retrieving ILM data for the first storage server;identifying at least one block of data on the first storage server thatwas accessed after a buffer time, the buffer time being the failure timeminus a time-out period of time; and re-synchronizing the at least oneidentified block of data between the first storage server and the secondstorage server.
 14. The computer storage system of claim 13, whereinre-synchronizing the at least one identified block of data between thefirst storage server and the second storage server places the secondstorage server in the first current state.
 15. The computer storagesystem of claim 13, wherein the ILM data comprises a timestampindicating a last access time of at least one block of data on the firststorage server.
 16. The computer storage system of claim 13, wherein theprogram module further causes the computer storage system to uponre-synchronizing the first storage server and the second storage server,resume synchronous replication of I/O operations between the firststorage server and the second storage server.
 17. The computer storagesystem of claim 16, wherein resuming synchronous replication of I/Ooperations between the first storage server and the second storageserver further comprises: receiving an I/O operation at the firststorage server; and replicating the I/O operation to the second storageserver before acknowledging the I/O operation.